


Should’ve Known Better

by oakest



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: Episode Related, Episode tag: Blood In Blood Out, S2 Ep14, aka a fix-it for that ep where Cho’s old friend dies, with a little bit of Jane/Cho pining sprinkled on top
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:13:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24456505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oakest/pseuds/oakest
Summary: Cho doesn’t want Jane to meddle in his business. But when it comes to Jane, he rarely gets what he wants. You’d think he’d know that by now.
Relationships: Kimball Cho/Patrick Jane
Comments: 1
Kudos: 33





	Should’ve Known Better

"Who's that?" Jane asks with his trademark impish grin, trying to peer over Cho's shoulder. Cho spares him an annoyed glare before tucking his ringing phone back into his jacket pocket. He shifts in his chair to distance himself from Jane.

"No one," Cho answers. He picks up his pen again, set on continuing his paperwork. He wills Jane to walk away. By some miracle, he actually gets his wish. Jane clasps his hands behind his back and walks away with an innocent smile as he heads to his couch. But the way he peeks over his shoulder to look at Cho again tells Cho that Jane may have walked away this time, but he certainly wasn't going to drop it.

With that in mind, Cho should have known better.

He had his guard up at first, of course. He was not interested in Jane's meddling - especially in this situation. He generally prides himself on handling Jane pretty well, not playing the mark quite as readily as Rigsby and standing his ground more firmly than Van Pelt has the heart for. But a key part of holding up against Jane's mind games was a knowing which battles to choose. Sometimes, it was just inevitable that Jane was going to worm his way in. In those cases, playing defense would only backfire. He's seen it a million times. Hence: Cho should have known better.

David calls again the next day, though. Cho is waiting by the coffee machine. It's easier than he would like to admit to decline the call. He feels better when the ringing quiets. He focuses on the drip of the coffee machine, so it startles him when the ringing comes right back.

This time, it's with hesitance that Cho fishes his phone out of his pocket. David's name flashes on the screen again. The thought of David calling again, even when he's been hung up on, gives Cho pause to stare at his vibrating phone.

"David Seung," Jane sounds the name out, over-annunciating the E. He's leaning - too close - by Cho's side. Before Cho can shoulder him away, Jane manages to snatch the phone right out of Cho's hand. A triumphant smile lights up his face as he darts out of Cho's reach, lifting the phone above his head, and Cho follows it at first. Then he pulls himself in. He restrains the instinct to chase after his phone. He will not reach up at Jane like a boy begging for his bully to put down his lunch money. Cho stills himself, settling a very unfriendly glare on Jane as his phone rings on above them.

Jane cocks a curious eyebrow. "You're not even going to fight me for it? I bet you could take me," Jane prods. Cho just keeps glaring. Cho almost breaks when he sees disappointment flicker across Jane's face when Jane realizes he isn't going to get his game of tug-of-war. But it's gone as soon as it's there, Jane's face lighting up again as he looks from Cho to the phone.

"Don't," Cho warns.

"But why not?" Is all Jane says. Like slow motion, Cho watches Jane bring the phone down to hit _accept_ on what must by now be the last ring. Then Jane flashes a blinding smile and tosses the phone to Cho.

Cho catches it, and though he has every intention of hanging up immediately, David's voice comes through while he's still stuck fumbling.

"Kimball?" The voice is hopeful and quiet, and Cho freezes. "Kimball, are you there?"

Cho can barely breathe. He closes his eyes, a surge of feelings rising in his throat that he hasn't tasted for years.

"If you want, I could just-" Jane cuts through it all, mockingly reaching for Cho's phone again. Cho pulls it sharply to his chest. As he glares at Jane, he finds himself grateful, too. He could have stood there and felt nauseous for another ten minutes before moving on. Jane just smiles knowingly. He nods to the phone.

Cho sucks in air through his teeth and pulls the phone slowly to his ear. "David," he says, and with that name, all the air, all of the fight drains right out of Cho. Jane smiles as he watches it, turning his head to give Cho at least a small sense of privacy in the vulnerable moment.

David talks on the other line. He skips right over niceties and jumps into a story about his new job. Cho grits his teeth, frustrated with the desperation in David's voice. Then it dawns on him that it's his fault. David has every reason to think Cho could cut it short before he got to say shat he wanted to say. The thought stills Cho again. He takes a calculated breath.

David continues to tell his story, rambling on like Cho never knew him to do. He listens intently and stares at the floor all the while. He doesn't notice it, but Jane stands just in front of him like a shield, subtly shooing away any agent bold enough to walk into the break room. Jane can't help but feel protective of Cho, though he doesn't much want to think about why. He's never felt this way about him before, but as he watches Cho repeatedly tense up and force himself to relax, he's amused and endeared in a way that kind of makes him want to pat Cho on the head or something. Then he imagines the glare he'd get for doing so and it's even more adorable. 

"And you went to KS? David, I knew-" Cho is exasperated, about to rail on him for playing right into the wrong hands, but he stops. David is protesting, trying to remind Cho that _he's_ the victim, but that isn't what takes the words out of Cho's mouth. It's Jane, giving him this look. A look that says _be nice, go easy, stay calm_. He's looking at Cho through thick lashes, and if the look itself wasn't enough to stop him, the realization that Cho just noticed Jane's eyelashes kills his will to argue.

And so it goes: David tells the story of his exploitation and desperation. Every time Cho thinks he's going to cut in unforgivingly, he goes to Jane for that look. Jane is happy to provide, keeping his blue eyes locked with Cho's and letting them communicate something beyond words. For a second, Cho thinks that Jane is going to reach out and stroke his cheek. But the image is absurd. He bats it away before he can analyze why it popped into his head.

When David is done, Cho stays silent. The question is implied, but David is afraid to say it. Cho knows that. He weighs his options. He does not look at Jane.

With a sigh, he relents, "Fine. I'll come in to the firm and ask around."

"Ask around for what?" David asks, but they both know the answer to this one too, and Cho doesn't even bother defending it. "You don't believe me? You can't take me at my word?"

Cho desperately looks up at Jane, searching his face for compassion. Jane smiles softly back at him. Cho breathes a sigh of relief when he sees that smile. Then, after a moment, something flashes behind his eyes that makes him blink a few times and look down again. He tells David, "I'll try my best."

Cho and David work out some details of when they'll meet, and Jane does his best to contain a proud smile. He wasn't sure what to expect when he intercepted the phone call, but this was certainly better than whatever it could have been. There was obviously some reconnection going on, but Jane fell so deeply into his own connection with Cho that he almost forgot to read the situation to its fullest. He does a quick fix on that, retroactively picking apart the call while Cho and David wrap up. They end a little awkwardly, stilted. And that's what clicks it into place for Jane. His smile widens.

"Stop smiling like that," Cho says curtly, dropping his phone back into his pocket. Jane bites his lips into his mouth, shaking his head at the floor. When he looks back up at Cho, he's got himself back under control, smile wiped blank.

"So how do you and David know each other? In the Special Forces together?" Jane fishes. He can tell Cho is looking him over and weighing whether or not to confide in Jane. Jane has to restrain another smile when the decision comes out in his favor.

"Avon Park Playboys together," Cho says, turning around to return to the coffee machine as he keeps talking. "We came up in the gang at the same time. I got out, he got caught. Released six months ago from Folsom." Cho pours coffee from the full pot into his mug, even though it's already cooling down by now. Jane nods thoughtfully, taking in the new information to reframe what he learned from the call. His realization makes even more sense now, and he can picture teenaged Cho and David ever so clearly.

Cho sips his coffee and turns around to face the taller man. He stares at Jane with a determination that Jane dare not interrupt. It takes a minute, but finally, Cho is confident he can remove the emotion from his voice. "Thanks."

And with that, Cho takes his mug back to his desk, brushing past Jane. Jane nods, letting him go. He checks over his shoulder to confirm that Cho is gone, and then, and only then, does he let himself giggle.


End file.
